"We are to declare independence 48 hours after all the official results are counted," he said in an interview with the BBC. "This will probably finish once we get all the votes in from abroad at the end of the week and therefore we shall probably act over the weekend or early next week."

Catalan officials say that 90 percent of the 2.3 million people who voted Sunday were in favor of independence. But fewer than half of those eligible to vote turned out.

Lï¿½HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT, CATALONIA, SPAIN - 2017/10/01: A man is seen raising his arms front of a spanish policeman.
National Police entered by force in the High School of Lï¿½Hospitalet City where they have requisitioned material use for the pro referendum vote such as ballot boxes and ballot papers. (Photo by Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Lï¿½HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT, CATALONIA, SPAIN - 2017/10/01: A woman is seen speaking to the Spanish Police.
National Police entered by force in the High School of Lï¿½Hospitalet City where they have requisitioned material use for the pro referendum vote such as ballot boxes and ballot papers. (Photo by Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Lï¿½HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT, CATALONIA, SPAIN - 2017/10/01: National Police entered by force in the High School of Lï¿½Hospitalet City where they have requisitioned material use for the pro referendum vote such as ballot boxes and ballot papers. (Photo by Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Lï¿½HOSPITALET DE LLOBREGAT, CATALONIA, SPAIN - 2017/10/01: A policeman is seen taking away a woman during the protest against spanish policemen.
National Police entered by force in the High School of Lï¿½Hospitalet City where they have requisitioned material use for the pro referendum vote such as ballot boxes and ballot papers. (Photo by Ramon Costa/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Scuffles break out as Spanish Civil Guard officers force their way through a crowd and into a polling station for the banned independence referendum where Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was supposed to vote in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

People hold up ballot sheets outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Susana Vera TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

A youngster is carried on shoulders as scuffles with Spanish Civil Guard officers broke out outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Spanish Civil Guard officers disperse people from the entrance of a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

Firemen and people face off Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina

A man falls to the ground during scuffles with Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

A youngster is carried on shoulders as scuffles with Spanish Civil Guard officers broke out outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

A woman reacts as she leaves a polling station after casting her vote for the banned separatist referendum in Barcelona, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso

A man reacts as he leaves a polling station after casting his vote for the banned separatist referendum in Barcelona, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Eloy Alonso

Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station for the banned independence referendum where Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was supposed to vote in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina

People scuffle with Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

A woman gives a carnation to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina

A man faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Albert Gea

"Today, Catalan society is fractured," the 49-year-old monarch said in a rare political intervention, referring to the developments as "very serious moments for our democratic life."

He called for unity but said Catalan leaders had shown “an unacceptable disloyalty towards the powers of the state.”

Catalonia, Spain's richest region, has its own language and culture and a political movement for secession that has strengthened in recent years.

Spain's Caixabank, Catalonia's largest lender, and ministers reassured bank customers that their deposits are secure from the growing crisis.

"Catalan banks are Spanish banks and European banks are solid and their clients have nothing to fear," Luis de Guindos, Spain's Economy Minister said Wednesday.

Spain's Banco Sabadell, the country's fifth-largest bank with a large business in Catalonia, also attempted to calm jitters. Both banks have seen their share price fall in recent days amid the turmoil.